Haas F1 Team’s new development driver Arjun Maini won his first ever GP3 race on Sunday, after he took the lead from polesitter Raoul Hyman on Lap 1 and never looked back. Maini, driving for Jenzer Motorsport had to protect his lead from a very fast Dorian Boccolacci. He has now become the first Indian driver to win a GP3 race and thanks to his efforts the Indian national anthem has finally been played during the podium celebrations in a major development series.
Maini fended off a strong try from Boccolacci which led the latter to be vulnerable from attack. He lost time and fell towards Anthoine Hubert and this scrap let Maini pull away. His fellow Haas Development driver, Santino Ferucci finished 8th, driving for DAMS.
This win is a sign that India is advancing in motorsport with the likes of Arjun Maini, Jehan Daruvala and Kush Maini. The sight of another Indian Formula One driver will surely be coming in the following few years.
Thanks to his development deal with Haas, which he earned on merit, he will be able to learn a lot about being an F1 driver, how an F1 team operates and much, much more. He will also have simulator sessions at Ferrari’s factory in Maranello which will help him develop as a driver. If he performs well in the support series, Haas would definitely consider signing him as their driver in the future.
Arjun’s manager and mentor, Karun Chandhok, who helped negotiate the deal with Haas, will be hoping that his protege will follow his footsteps into Formula One and possibly be more successful than he was.
More To Follow.
Image Credits : motorsport.com & autosport.com
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